MICHAEL de Wend Fenton owner of what is reputed to be Britain's smallest stately home, Ebberston Hall, near Scarborough, has died at 75.

Mr de Wend Fenton served in the Scots Guards and King's Own Shropshire Light Infantry, before he joined the French Foreign Legion, from which he later escaped.

His wife, Margaret, said "He was smuggled out of Africa. It was a very daring escape."

A book on Mr de Wend Fenton's life is being written by a friend.